On March 12, 2025, a major European bank had to pull its AI‑driven credit‑scoring service from production after a regulator cited a missing conformity‑assessment report, costing the firm €3.2 million in penalties and lost revenue. Why 2026 Is a Hard Deadline, Not a Soft Target Legal timeline vs. product roadmap The EU AI Act defines “high‑risk” systems as those placed on the market after January 1 2026 . That date is not a suggestion; it is the moment the law switches from “ex‑ante” to “ex‑post”